Don't You Want Me? ✵ Steve Harrington

Chapter 49

"El, you're bleeding," Max worried, trying to help her walk out to Nancy's car.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked, supporting El's other side.

"Yeah," El grunted.

Max and Kim exchanged a worried look as Kim popped open the back door and helped El inside.

Nancy slid in the driver's seat and turned the key only to have the engine sputter in response.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan asked from next to her.

"I don't..." Nancy trailed off, trying again. "I don't know. You can't be serious. Come on!"

"Didn't your mom just but this car?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Nancy snapped, banging her fist on the steering wheel. "I'm sure it's fine."

"Did you leave the lights on?" Will asked, trying to be helpful.

"No," Nancy replied, starting to panic.

"Do we have gas?" Lucas asked.

"Yes!" Nancy yelled. She twisted the key again, pissed that these kids couldn't even drive yet and they were trying to give her pointers. "Come on!"

Jonathan's eyes widened and he stopped Nancy from trying again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just stop, stop! Pop the hood," he told her, getting back out of the car.

"This is off to a great start," Kim muttered to Mike and El.

"Why won't the car go?" El asked, knowing nothing about cars.

The other two shrugged, waiting for Jonathan to come back with the verdict.

"What the hell," Jonathan muttered, looking at the engine.

"What?" Nancy asked, joining him outside the car.

"The ignition cable's gone," he explained.

The sound of a loud car revving echoed across the parking lot. For a second, Nancy wondered if Kimmy or one of the kids had managed to start the car. That hope was squandered when a pair of bright headlights shone in their faces. Nancy blinked a few times, knowing deep down who it was, but wanting to be sure before she really started to panic. Once her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she was sure that the car belonged to Billy Hargrove. She rushed over to the side of the car, flinging open the door so Will, Lucas, and Max could crawl out. "Back in the mall!" she instructed.

Kim's heart pounded against her chest as her and Mike frantically helped El out of the back seat and into Starcourt Mall again.

Billy continued to revve the engine, hate and malice in his Mind Flayer controlled eyes.

•••••

"Scoops Troop I repeat, do you copy?" Mike paced around as he spoke into his walky talky. "We're trapped in the mall and in need of emergency transportation. Scoops Troop, do you copy? Billy has found us. He has disabled our car and we are trapped in the mall."

Kim rolled her eyes, snatching the thing from Mike's grasp. "Hey, idiots!" she yelled into the walky. "Get your asses back here and help us!"

"You can't talk like that over a walky talky," Mike told her, taking it back from her.

"I can talk however the hell I want," Kim called over her shoulder. She marched over to Nancy who was struggling to get the gun off one of the dead Russina guards.

"You're gonna kill him, aren't you?" Max asked the two older girls.

"This is just a precaution, okay?" Nancy reassured her.

"And not just against Billy," Will added. "If he knows we're here, so does the Mind Flayer."

Kim put a hand on Max's shoulder. "It'll be okay." She couldn't bring herself to add 'I promise'.

Nancy looked over at the car El had flipped earlier. "No chance that thing'll drive, right?" she joked.

"We don't need it to drive," Jonathan realized. "We just need the ignition cable.

•••••

Kim stood on the counter between Nancy and Mike, trying desperately to push the car over so they could get inside the hood.

"Shit!" Lucas yelled, when it fell back towards them and nearly crushed his hand.

"Let me try," El said confidently. She held out a hand and tried to make it move even a little bit, but nothing happened.

"El, you're just drained, that's all," Mike tried to console her. "Let's just try something else.

•••••

"Told you, physics," Mike smiled as the car was finally right side up again.

Kim rolled her eyes as she jumped to the ground and then helped Max down as well. "Yeah, yeah, you're smart. We get it."

Jonathan and Nancy tried not to laugh at their friend as they moved to the front of the beat up car.

"How do we get it open?" Nancy asked, prying at the dented metal.

"There should be a latch. Check under the wheel," Jonathan instructed. "You see it?"

"I don't know, hold on," Nancy said, looking into the car.

"What is she doing?" Max asked Mike and Kim, her eyes trained on El who was digging through the trash.

The three of them exchanged a look before walking over towards El. The telekinetic girl finally found what she was looking for: a Coke can. She placed it on a counter and took a deep breath. Her hand was outstretched as she tried desperately to crush the can. This had once been such a simple task, but now it didn't even dent.

"El," Kim said softly. "Are you okay?"

Eleven looked sadly at her three closest friends and then back at the Coke can.

Kim was about to say something else when she felt the ground rumble underneath her. Her stomach clenched as she looked up at the glass ceiling. She couldn't believe that just a few hours ago she had been high as a kite and staring at the same ceiling with Steve and Robin.

"Guys," Max breathed, pointing up at the shadowy shape that loomed above them.

"Nancy!" Mike screamed, alerting his sister to the new problem they were about to face.

Kim didn't look back to see if Nancy and the others had taken cover, she just grabbed Mike, El, and Max and shoved them behind a large potted plant. The smell of rotting flesh and blood overwhelmed her senses as the Mind Flayer broke through the glass ceiling and dropped into the middle of the mall. This was a battle, and the Mind Flagler didn't plan on leaving any survivors.